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The joys and challenges of nurturing our kids.

artificial sweetener

In every relationship there are disagreements on how to manage your household. As the person who does the shopping, prepares the meals, and oh gee, has the most knowledge of food in the house, I like to have control of the kitchen and what foods enter our home. But there is one item I cannot shake. The tropical punch Kool-Aid. My husband has this deep-seeded need to have the occasional glass of the red-dyed, sugar-filled beverage. I was cool with the idea when AJ was little, but now both of the kids want to join in on the artificial fun. The list of forbidden foods for our home is pretty short and artificial food coloring tops it. We have even weeded it out of medicines, vitamins and toothpaste. There is definitely a difference in AJ’s behavior when he eats foods that contain the dye. When we are visiting friends and family, I am not so strict and allow them to partake in what their peers do, but I have done very good job of keeping it out of our home. Except for that Kool-Aid.

So the dilemma is the different viewpoints of my husband and I. He perceives it in a manner similar to the beer and wine we have in the house. That it is off limits to the kids. While I think that since they are growing older, we need to set a good example and not drink it ourselves. The problem with his viewpoint is that it is not really off-limits because whenever he has a glass and they are around, they seem to always partake in the sweet-red potion. To be fair, my methodology prevents the kids from participating in a lesson in moderation and self-control. So who is right? Clearly at this present time, it is not a disagreement that I am winning. I am not giving up though, the debate will continue every time the container of the fake juice runs out.